Britain’s orchestras have long proved major springboards for big careers. Stéphane Denève, in his seven-year tenure at the helm of the RSNO, developed a great rapport with his ensemble and the Scottish audience.
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Stéphane Denève Roussel recordings

One of Roussel’s most performed orchestral works, The Spider’s Web was composed during his earlier impressionistic period, and depicts the beauty and violence of insect life in a garden. Roussel’s experiences as a lieutenant in the French Navy first introduced him to Eastern influences, and the ‘operaballet’ Padmâvatî was inspired by his later visit to the ancient city of Chittor in Rajasthan state of western India. It uses aspects of Indian music to evoke this city’s legendary siege by the Mongols. This is the fifth and final volume in Stéphane Denève and the RSNO’s acclaimed survey of Roussel’s orchestral works. “An excellent disc, splendidly and idiomatically performed and a superb advertisement for composer, conductor and orchestra. Highly recommended.” (Gramophone on Vol. 4 / 8.572135)

‘The symphony has a wonderful, explosive energy and a slow movement whose close contains music as ravishing as anything in Richard Strauss. Breathtaking.’ – The Herald

‘The performances are lively and invigorating, with all the sensuous elements brought out fully in the ballet as well as its rhythmic drive … Listening again to the masterful Third Symphony, one wonders why it is so scandalously neglected in the concert hall.’ – Penguin Guide

‘The fourth instalment of Stephane Denève’s Roussel cycle is, if anything, even better than its predecessors. The music’s idiom, at once tight reined and richly inventive, brims with opportunities for the woodwind and brass section principals which the RSNO’s classy line-up takes superbly.’ – Classic FM

‘Stéphane Denève’s Roussel cycle for Naxos easily has been the finest ever recorded, and this concluding disc fully lives up to expectations … Great sound, great music, great performances—a great series.’ – ClassicsToday.com